"A life of pleasure makes even the strongest mind frivolous at last." — Edward Bulwer-Lytton

Favourite Knitted Sweaters

Autumn has arrived here in the northern hemisphere, so time to rug up in front of Netflix and get your knit on! That way, your new sweater can be ready in time for when it starts to get hot again next June. LOL.

I thought I’d share some of my favourite sweaters I’ve knit over the years. I just counted up in my Ravelry account and I’ve knit FIFTY ONE sweaters since I began knitting in 2009. Not even including all the sweaters I knit half-way or more then frogged. How many billions of stitches would that be??

First up: the Sweetheart Sweater. The intarsia colour work was a bit of a bitch, for sure, but it was worth it. I also had some serious fit issues with this one and had to attack it with my serger! All my trials and tribulations (as well as links to the pattern details) are detailed in these posts here and here.

Next is the Tempest striped cardigan (2013). A great everyday sweater in a light gauge (it’s knit with sock-weight yarn). Regrets: the way the button band is designed is so that it ends before the bottom of the cardigan, leaving a gap. I don’t know why I followed those directions — I knew that would end up bothering me, and it does! If only it were as easy to alter a knitted garment after the fact as it is to alter a sewn garment. Still, it’s not that big a deal, and I wear this a lot.

My Icelandic Reatur (2013): this was the first ever sweater I steeked, which means you knit the whole sweater in the round and then you CUT YOUR SWEATER up the middle to make a cardigan. Talk about terrifying! Steeking may count as the bravest thing I’ve ever done in my life! LOL! I used cashmere yarn, which was heavily discounted, but still added up. Alas, I don’t wear this one that much — the zipper is a little wonky and there’s something a little off about the fit — but I’m still counting it as a favourite, because cashmere. And steeking.

The Briar Rose tunic (2012): K, so I remember that I actually took this picture right after waking up from a nap, and you can totally tell! Lol. I love the cable work and ribs on this design. I didn’t blog about this but the pattern is here, and you can read details about mine on Ravelry.

51 sweaters, woah! How many years are we talking about here? 😀 I did some knitting as a child, but I remember it took ages even if it was just a scarf for a doll… Now I’m considering to start knitting again as it’s something you can multitask, like watching tv or on a commute and it just seems relaxing to me… I don’t know if that’s true though!

It is true! Of course there are the usual frustrations as you learn but ultimately there are only two main stitches to learn, and everything else is a variation on those. Once you get those stitches, it can be very meditative. I love the portability of it (you can’t set up your sewing machine on a long car ride, for example). And I also love that it forces me to be patient. There are no shortcuts in knitting! It’s just stitch after stitch until you make it to the end. 🙂

51 is amazing – I can’t even imagine ever knitting that many. I’ve been working on my first grown-up sized sweater for almost a year now, and it’s not finished yet.. I love the portability of knitting compared to sewing, and that you can (usually) chat or watch TV at the same time.

One more thought – Do you follow the “Fabrickated” blog? She recently learned to knit and goes at it hammer and tongs with great results. She also does knit-alongs which are fun and which you might like. Personally, I burned myself out knitting years ago. Five cardigans in two months and then I never wanted to look at knitting again, though I love the results. And now I’ve got trigger fingers so am wary of picking up the needles even if I wanted to. However, I love seeing what you’ve done. Really beautiful work.